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Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎04-08-2013 14:13

NOW TV Box 50Hz output

Status: Implemented

Please can you add support for 50Hz output to the NowTV box.

All UK TV content is encoded for viewing at 50Hz. The NowTV box only outputs at 60Hz, meaning anything intended for UK broadcast (eg. NowTV, Sky News, BBC iPlayer and Demand 5 - ie. everything the box comes pre-installed with) does not play back smoothly.

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25 Comments
Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎04-08-2013 23:48

It's technically impossible to do this. The hardware of the box only produces a 60Hz signal and it would require a major hardware change to make the box compatible with 50Hz. 

 

Besides there are no issues with playback on the box because of the 60Hz rate. If you are experiencing jerky playback then you either have a faulty box or your TV has some image enhancement technology enabled which is causing the jerkiness.

Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎05-08-2013 9:12

Video encoded at 25 or 50fps requires some frames to be displayed more than others, if viewed using a 60Hz output. This makes motion not as smooth as it should be - it's not a faulty box or settings.

If it's technically impossible to get it to output 50Hz then fine, however I believe the SoC is the same as the one in the Raspberry Pi, which manages 50Hz, so would like confirmation from NowTV.

Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎06-08-2013 15:45

Sorry fibblesan, but converting 50Hz to display at 60Hz will invariably result in some loss of quality... does!  Duplicating frames to get up to the 60Hz results in a 10Hz or 5Hz judder on smooth motion from 50Hz/25Hz source material.  I do see exactly this kind of judder on sources like iPlayer - I'm using a PC monitor with the box without any additional processing.

 

I suspect SirHC is probably right.  Although I gather the Roku LT on which this is based is NTSC/60Hz only, it is the same SoC as the Raspberry Pi, and if the Raspberry Pi can do it then probably this can too with a suitable firmware/software update.  If the SoC can do it, and does all the complicated side of the video encoding, I can't imagine that any output-shaping electronics wouldn't allow at least a pseudo-PAL/50Hz output.

Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎07-12-2014 12:53

Still nothing? We got the NowTV box hooked up again for the dark season, and I immediately noticed the judder again. If you can't see it, just must be kind of motion blind. 

 

How difficult can it be to set the refresh rate to 50Hz? It is just a simple timer. 

DarylM
Legend 5
Legend 5
‎07-12-2014 19:10

50Hz would be great since then, I assume, it could be connected to older 50Hz PAL TVs (with appropriate adaptors).

0 Votes
BicBasher
Elite
‎08-12-2014 2:39

The only device I've found that outputs NOW TV at 50Hz are the LG Smart TV's using the LG app.  It may also be possible if you buy the LG Smart Blu-Ray player as well.

 

Chromecast outputs at 60Hz, but I've found the motion judder to be more tolerable than the NOW TV Box.

 

 

0 Votes
SeeMoreDigital
Legend 5
Legend 5
‎11-12-2014 21:06

SirHC's explaination is spot on...

 

Watching 25fps/50Hz content (from the likes of BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD, Demand 5 and the 'Entertainment Pack' offerings) at 60Hz, is a very uncomfortable viewing experience!

 

Even my grandmother, who has glaucoma and cataracts was able to tell something did not look right...

 

Please find a solution. Even if it means making a new box? 

 

   

Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎13-12-2014 10:05

The NOWTV box is based on Roku LT ( no longer made)

 

I've run one of these at 720p 60Hz for over 2 years and not had any viewing problems.

 

TV set is Panasonic Full HD 100Hz.

Anonymous User
Not applicable
‎01-01-2015 12:47

The broadcasters' material is based on 50Hz frame rate, yet the NOW box outputs 60Hz so it is converting to that frame rate, very poorly in my opinion.

Newer flat screen TVs can cope with this issue better because they have internal frame-rate processing. They take input from the digital HDMI output of the NOW box

Older CRT TVs such as the one I am using have neither HDMI nor frame processing. The output from the Now box's AV connector is in NTSC format at 60Hz and gives a very jerky output, even on my TV which is fully NTSC capable.

I find the rolling credits on programmes almost unreadable. Smiley Mad

It would certainly have been possible to have the box output 50Hz but that would have involved new software - at extra cost.Smiley Surprised

 

0 Votes
herojan
Expert
‎19-07-2015 21:02

 

Most of the time I don't have a problem, I just notice some occasional jerkiness on some panning scenes  on UK sourced (i.e. 50Hz) material, such as with Penny Dreadful. If I watch the same scene using NowTV on my LG TV it is not there. 

 

It is more an annoyance than anything, but surely it must be possible for Roku to use a  video chip that can do both?

 

NB: I have switched all motion processing off on my TV.